As the outcry about UNH’s closure of the Outdoor Pool has grown louder, I am reminded of why I lobbied so hard for Mark Huddleston to be president when I was on the UNH Presidential Selection Committee. He was one of the few candidates who articulated strong support for Town/Gown relationships and actually had the experience to back it up.

At the time the relationship with the town was at its worst. I had just run for Town Council and in meeting after meeting, citizens asked me if I would support cutting off the sewer and water to UNH until it paid a fee in lieu of taxes. They were annoyed at the fact that University hadn’t added any parking when it built the Whittemore Center. They blamed the University for badly behaved students, high taxes, and pretty much everything else that was wrong in the town.

Then the fight over Moore Fields and the soccer complex erupted. An email list in opposition grew from 20 to 2,000 in a matter of weeks. Ultimately, as you are no doubt aware, the project was canceled, a $6 million check was returned and the president had resigned. I use that story in all my books and speeches as an example of why organizations should put a value on the health of its public relationships.

When Mark came to the University he quickly addressed those problems and ultimately improved that poisoned Town/Gown relationship. In the years since then, his actions have consistently proven that we made the right choice and my respect for the University has increased enormously due primarily to Mark’s dealings with the town.

But now, I see the controversy over the Outdoor Pool headed in the same direction, only it’s worse. Once again the relationship has soured. But this time it isn’t just a piece of land the University is taking away. It is a piece of the town’s history. That pool and the joy it has given to Durham residents has shaped the character of this town. To me it has always been on a list of places in Durham that you make people see, a piece of WPA history right in our own backyard. As a kid, the high point of my year was swimming lessons at the pool. It wasn’t just about learning to swim, it was about the camaraderie and gaining the confidence to move from “Minnow” to “Perch” to “Shark.” There are thousands of people like me whose lives were similarly shaped by that pool and who feel the same connection and passion for that amazing place.

Which is why I’m writing you today. My profession is measuring relationships, and if I were measuring the Town/Gown relationship today, my guess is that on factors like trust, credibility and satisfaction, UNH is losing several percentage points every week. The cost of that decline may well far exceed the cost of preserving the pool. All the research shows that erosion of those elements of a relationship negatively impacts the finances of an organization — in higher legal fees, longer time to complete projects, higher recruitment costs and the introduction of unfavorable legislation.

I urge you to reconsider your decision to close the pool next summer and to continue to work with the town on a mutually agreeable solution.